The Parent Visitation
by SergeantFuzzyBoots
Summary: Penny's dad is coming to meet Leonard and the two worry that he won't be very accepting of the kind of guy Leonard is. Rated T, just in case.
1. The Procrastination Complication

**Okay, so this is set sometime after Leonard and Penny have gotten back together, whenever that finally happens. I'm still working on The Infatuation Ingredients, but this popped into my head, so I figured I'd write it. Annnnnd, I don't own anything.**

Penny exited the bathroom just in time to see Leonard flop down onto her bed and bury himself under the covers.

"Tired?" Penny asked, smiling as the she got into bed next to him.

Leonard nodded. "I had to drive Sheldon everywhere today. Work, comic book store, Pottery Barn, comic book store-

"You already said you went to the comic book store."

"He needed to make a return trip. And then I drove him home." Leonard finished, keeping his eyes closed the entire time.

Penny smiled sympathetically and removed his glasses-which he'd been too tired to remove- and placed them on her bedside table.

"Thanks," Leonard mumbled, burying his face in his pillow.

Penny frowned. Maybe tonight wasn't a good night to tell him. He was practically asleep already and he was frustrated with Sheldon. However, she'd run out of days to put this off, always coming up with another excuse, so she might as well get it over with now. Plus, maybe he'd be too exhausted to get upset.

"Hey, Leonard?"

"Hmm?"

"You love me, right?" Penny asked, twisting her sheets in her hands uneasily.

"Uh huh."

"And you'd still love me even if I did something without telling you that you probably wouldn't like and then didn't tell you about it until the last second?"

"Uh huh."

Penny sighed. Well, so far so good, but she wasn't sure how long that would last.

"Okay," Penny said hesitantly, unsure of how to proceed. "Because...I sort of invited my dad to come here...for a few days...to meet you...and he's coming tomorrow."

Penny waited for Leonard's reaction, preparing for him to freak out.

"That's amazing," Leonard mumbled.

Penny stared at him incredulously. Out of all the things she'd thought he'd say, this wasn't one of them.

"It is?" she asked suspiciously.

"That's so great."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you aren't even listening!"

"That's awesome."

Penny, narrowing her eyes at her sleeping boyfriend, grabbed her pillow and smacked him over the head with it.

"Hey!" cried Leonard, sitting up. "What was that for?"

"Oh, never mind, just go to sleep!" Penny sighed in frustration.

Penny turned away from Leonard-who was giving her a very confused look-and closed her eyes.

She really wanted her dad to like and approve of Leonard, but considering who her dad was, that didn't seem likely. Her dad had wanted her to be a boy, a boy who liked sports and weight-lifting. Since that hadn't worked out, he seemed dead-set on her ending up with a guy who was like that...and Leonard wasn't that kind of guy. But, none of the guys her father would have loved her to be with just weren't the guy she loved; they weren't Leonard. And her father would just have to deal with that. _Hopefully_ he could deal with that.


	2. The Worry Implantation

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! It's very much appreciated! Also, I don't own anything.**

"It's over, dude. There's no way you can catch up!" said Raj.

"On the contrary, my friend, when my father would bring me to football games and his team was losing miserably during the fourth quarter and I begged him to take me home, he would always say, "It ain't over till it's over." Sheldon informed him smugly.

"Okay, now it's really over. I just crossed the finish line and you're stuck behind a tree while driving backwards."

Sheldon scowled. "Fine, you win. But while you are victorious playing Mario Kart _Wii_, had we been using the original game for the Nintendo 64 with _real_ video game controllers, I would have come out the victor."

"Whatever, dude, you still owe me twenty bucks."

"Okay, Leonard," said Howard. "Ready to get your ass whipped by an Italian plumber in go-cart?"

"Please, you're almost as bad as Sheldon," said Leonard, grabbing a steering wheel.

"Try and win quickly, Leonard. You have to pick up the Chinese food in twenty minutes," Sheldon reminded him.

"I'm not eating with you guys tonight, Sheldon. Penny's dad's coming over and I have to meet him." Leonard stared at his friends in confusion as they threw him shocked looks. "What?"

"You're meeting Penny's dad?" Howard asked incredulously.

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, is he coming just to meet you?"

"Yeah."

Leonard frowned when Raj and Howard shared a look.

"Dude, you are so screwed," said Raj.

"What? How am I screwed?"

"It's judgment day, Leonard," Howard informed him. "Penny's dad is gonna meet you and then decide if you are the right guy for Penny."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "He's not going to do that, Howard. And even if he was going to, he can't."

"Oh, yes he can. That's why certain girls I dated had to dump me. They told me their fathers didn't approve."

"And how many of their fathers had you actually met?"

"...shut up," Howard mumbled.

"Look, I'm just going to meet Penny's dad and that's it. No big deal." However, already Howard's "words of wisdom" were scaring him little. Sure, Penny's dad couldn't force him and Penny to stop dating, but suppose he didn't like Leonard. He wanted Penny's dad to like him and approve of him. Just like his mother approved of Penny.

"Excuse me, Leonard, but I think you're failing to see the big picture here!" cried Sheldon.

_Don't tell me _Sheldon_ actually has any idea about these kinds of things!_

"Who's going to pick up the Chinese food?" Sheldon exclaimed.

_Of course._

"And an even better question: How can we possibly eat Chinese food with only three people? I just won't work!" Sheldon turned to frown at Leonard. "This is why you're supposed to tell me about these kinds of changes a week in advance!"

"Penny only told me about it last night!"

"And how long was _she_ aware that her father was coming to visit?"

"I don't know, about a week?"

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised that she's at the root of the problem?"

"Well, I'm sure she's very sorry," Leonard sighed.

"No, she's not! She never is!" Sheldon snapped.

Leonard groaned in annoyance. He couldn't worry about Sheldon's crazy problems right now. Thanks to Howard he had much more important things to focus on.


	3. The Discomfort Addition

**Okay, thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. We finally meet Bob in this chapter-I know some of you have been waiting-so here he is. Hopefully you like how I write him. Also, I don't own anything.**

Penny entered 4A, finding Leonard and a distraught looking Sheldon sitting on the couch, watching television.

"Something wrong, Moonpie?" she asked.

Sheldon slowly turned his head to glare at Penny and then returned his attention back to the TV.

Penny looked at Leonard curiously. "What's his problem?"

"Just ignore him, he's having a bad day," said Leonard as he got up.

"A bad _day_?" Sheldon asked incredulously. "This is going to plague me for _weeks_!"

"Raj and Howard just went to get the Chinese food, Sheldon, the problem has been solved! Why can't you just let it go?"

"I can't let it go because the problem is _not_ solved! We can't eat Chinese food with only three people, Leonard, we tried it once before and it didn't work. Come to think of it, that was her fault as well."

Penny stared at Sheldon for a moment before asking, "What?"

Before Sheldon had a chance to answer, Leonard grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door, saying good-bye to the whackadoodle as they exited the apartment.

"What was that about?" Penny asked.

"Oh, nothing. You sort of ruined his life, but he'll get over it," Leonard said dismissively.

"Oh, well, if that's all," Penny said sarcastically, smiling at her boyfriend. Leonard gave her a small smile, but it quickly faded.

"So, your dad should be here any minute, right?" Leonard asked, suddenly finding his shoes very interesting and not looking away from them.

Penny nodded, looking at Leonard curiously. He seemed anxious, which was strange. This morning he'd been perfectly calm and hadn't seemed worried about meeting her father at all. However, Leonard did have a tendency to go into panic mode last second, so maybe it shouldn't worry her too much.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, excellent. Better than excellent, actually, I'm great. Although, I suppose others might disagree that excellent is a stronger adjective than great, and that by being great, I'm worse than excellent. However, if you check a dictionary, you'd find that their definitions are quite similar-

"Leonard?"

"Yes?"

"Relax," Penny told him, smiling. "My dad's not going to shoot you or anything. He just wants to get to know you."

"Okay, but-

"Don't worry about it." Penny leaned in and kissed him softly.

"Yeah, I just-

"Relax, sweetie," she sighed into his lips.

Penny deepened the kiss, hoping to distract Leonard. It worked, and a smile spread across her face as she felt him wrap his arms around her waist. Unfortunately, the kissing didn't last long, and she frowned when she felt Leonard jump away from her.

Penny looked up in annoyance and her eyes widened with shock when she saw her father standing at the top of the stairs with a suitcase in his hand, his eyes on Leonard.

_You have got to be kidding me!_

Penny looked back from Leonard to her father. Her father stared at Leonard with narrowed eyes, while Leonard-now looking quite sick-had rekindled his fascination with his shoes. Leonard looked incredibly small compared to her father-who always towered over everyone-and next to her dad he looked like a twig.

Hating the silence, Penny walked towards her father. "Dad!" she cried, overly cheerful. "Good to see you!" She gave him a quick hug and smiled at him, trying to ease the tension. "You look good." It was sort of true. His curly brown hair was still thick, although his round face was starting to wrinkle-though that could just be because he was frowning.

"Thanks," he grumbled, his voice deep. "So, this is Lance, huh?"

"Leonard," she corrected.

"Yeah, yeah," he said dismissively. "So, is this your apartment?" Bob pointed at 4A.

"No, the one over there," Penny pointed behind her. "That one's Leonard's apartment."

"Oh, you two live across the hall from each other?" he asked, surprised.

Penny nodded, suddenly realizing that her shoes were pretty interesting, too.

"Huh. Well, that's..._convenient_..."

_Oh, God!_

"Alright then!" said Bob, clapping his hands together. "Let me see your place! Lance, get my bags!"

"Actually, it's Le-uh, right away, sir!" Leonard said quickly, grabbing Bob's suitcase.

Penny led her father into the apartment, now wishing that she'd had Sheldon over to clean it.

"You can just put his suitcase by the couch, _Leonard_," she said, hoping her father would catch on.

"Am I not sleeping in your bed?" Bob asked. "Not to be selfish or anything, but I think you'd fit better on the couch than I would."

"Oh, yeah, but, well, it would just be kind of uncomfortable for me and Leo- Penny shut her mouth before she could finish her sentence. She couldn't believe she'd just said that. Of all the reasons she could have given her father, _that_ was the one she'd gone with?

_Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!_

"Oh, I see," said Bob, chuckling darkly. "You two want to sleep in the same bed."

"Yes, sir, but I could easily just stay at my apartment tonight or every night if you prefer," Leonard rambled.

"No, no. God forbid I keep you two apart," he said sarcastically. "But, I'm not sleeping on that thing," he pointed at the couch. "So, you two have fun out here!"

Bob took his suitcase from Leonard and tossed it into Penny's room, then returned to the living room and flopped down on the couch.

"Yeah, see? There's no way I would sleep on this."

Leonard, looking very nauseated, gave Penny a worried glance. She met it with a weak smile to reassure him, but she knew it wouldn't help.

"So, dad, I am going to get dinner started," said Penny, wringing her hands. "If you just want to watch TV, that's fine."

"I'll give you a hand with that!" Leonard nearly shouted, beating Penny to the kitchen.

* * *

"Your elbow's in my ribcage, your elbow's in my ribcage, your elbow's in my ribcage!" Leonard whispered, grimacing.

"Sorry," Penny sighed, repositioning herself. She was lying on top of Leonard on the couch in the dark. It had been almost half an hour and they still weren't comfortable. However, being uncomfortable was nothing new now. Dinner with Bob had gone..._fine_. He'd found a football game on TV and had been too preoccupied to talk, which was good. Leonard and Penny hadn't relaxed, though, and they definitely weren't relaxed now.

"It's in my neck, it's in my neck, it's in my neck!" Leonard choked.

Penny let out a frustrated groan and slid her arm behind Leonard's neck. She rested her head just under his chin and felt him wrap his arms around her.

"Just to warn you, if you let go of me, I'll probably fall off the couch," she said, dead serious.

"Got it," Leonard sighed.

"Sheldon was right, this sucks."

"Yeah, playing Pictionary till three in the morning with him was much better."

"How would you know? You fell asleep!"

"That's what made it so much better," Leonard sighed contentedly.

Penny grinned.

"You know," said Leonard, stroking her arm absent-mindedly. "We could just sneak over to my apartment to sleep."

"I wouldn't risk it," Penny advised. "My dad has..._vulcan_ hearing?..."

"Good for you, you remembered." Leonard smiled.

"Thank you," said Penny proudly.

"Would you two shut up out there?" Bob shouted from Penny's bedroom. "I don't know what you two are doing, but _I'm_ trying to sleep!"

"Point taken, good night," Leonard whispered, quickly kissing Penny's forehead.


	4. The Preying Mantis Comparison

**Okay, so, sorry, but this chapter's pretty short. The one's in the future should be longer. Again, I don't own anything, blah, blah, blah. Okay, seriously, do I have write that every time?**

"Does that feel any better?" Penny asked as she massaged Leonard's shoulders.

Leonard leaned against the kitchen counter and sighed as he felt a rush of relief course through his sore muscles. He'd woken up stiff as a board and it had taken awhile before he'd felt good enough to get off the couch.

"Yeah, that helps," he replied as Penny dug her thumbs in a little harder.

"Good, then it's my turn!" she sighed with relief, sliding in front of Leonard.

Leonard smiled and shook his head. He began rubbing Penny's shoulders; moving his hands wherever she ordered them. As he followed his girlfriend's instructions his mind wandered. Last night with Penny's dad had gone _okay._ There hadn't been much communication between him and Bob, but that wasn't so bad. For now. Eventually, they would have to get to know each other, and when they did there couldn't be a football game on to ease the tension.

"So, do you have any ideas on how to make your dad like me?" Leonard asked.

"How do you know he doesn't like you?" Penny asked.

Leonard raised his eyebrows at her.

"He just doesn't know you that well yet. You two just need some sort of bonding activity. Something that'll make both of you comfortable."

"Are you suggesting I do what you did and go get drunk with him?" Leonard asked sarcastically.

"No, I just-...well...," Penny trailed off, looking thoughtful.

"Penny," Leonard said sternly.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," she laughed. "Why don't you just go to a baseball game or something?"

"A baseball game? Why a baseball game?"

"Because I kind of already promised my dad that you would go see one with him," Penny replied, smiling hopefully at Leonard.

"Baseball? Really? It couldn't at least have been football?" Leonard sighed. "At least I know something about that."

"It isn't football season, honey."

"But we just watched a football game last night!"

"That was an old game."

_Dammit! Still can't tell the difference!_

"Morning."

Leonard turned to see Bob exiting Penny's bedroom, already fully dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans.

"Morning, sir," said Leonard, giving an awkward salute, which he immediately regretted.

"You wanna put some pants on, Lance?" Bob grumbled, beginning to make coffee.

Leonard grimaced. _Idiot! Why didn't you get dressed before he got up?_ "Uh, yes, sir," he said, heading towards the door. "I'll just run across the hall and change-

-_knock, knock, knock- _"Leonard and Penny." _–knock, knock, knock-_ "Leonard and Penny." _–knock, knock, knock-_ "Leonard and Penny."

_Son of a bitch._

"What the hell is that?" Bob asked, frowning.

"Someone who's about to get punched in the throat because it isn't eleven a.m yet," Penny grumbled.

Bob walked curiously over to the door and opened it, revealing Sheldon with his arm wrapped protectively around his neck.

_Well, this should be interesting._

"Who are you?" Bob asked.

"Greetings, I'm Dr. Sheldon Cooper. I live across the hall with Leonard," said Sheldon.

"You _live_ with Leonard?" Penny's dad asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, but in heterosexual bedrooms!" Leonard quickly clarified.

Bob gave Leonard a curious stare and then turned back to Sheldon. "So, you're a doctor?"

"Not a medical doctor. I have a PhD in theoretical physics."

"Physics? Like science stuff, right?"

Sheldon frowned at Bob for a moment before saying, "You must be Penny's father."

"Yeah, how'd you guess?" Bob asked as Sheldon entered the apartment.

"Oh, I assure you there was no guessing involved. Now, down to business. Penny, while I understand that being visited by relatives can be a "big deal", it is in no way an excuse for throwing my life into chaos and I ask that you refrain from doing it again."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Penny agreed, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Good," said Sheldon, seeming satisfied. "You are awarded one strike."

"Yippee," said Penny sarcastically.

"Sarcasm?"

"Go away, Sheldon."

Sheldon-looking a tad insulted-made his way back to the door, stopping only to inform Leonard that he, too, had earned himself one strike.

"Is it just me or did that guy look like a preying mantis?" Bob asked once Sheldon was out of earshot.

"You aren't the first person to mention that," Leonard replied, smiling at Penny. She stuck her tongue out at him before taking another sip of her coffee.


	5. The Speed Limit Suggestion

**Alright, sorry it's been a while since I last updated. I'll try and post the chapters more quickly next time. Also, I apologize for this chapter not being very long, although, future chapters are probably going to be about the same length. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, it is greatly appreciated. Also, I don't own anything, except...no, nothing.**

"Okay, now put this on."

Leonard stared doubtfully at the baseball cap in Penny's hand. Today he was supposed to go with Bob to the baseball game, and Penny had been quizzing him all day on facts he'd need to know about teams called the Dodgers and the Rockies, and other complicated rules about baseball. This Dodgers cap was apparently the finishing touch to "Baseball Leonard".

"Thanks," Leonard sighed as he put the cap on. He didn't really like wearing hats, but apparently he'd look rather out of place at the stadium if he didn't have one of these on.

"Okay, now, remember, my dad's favourite player is...?" Penny quizzed him.

"Vincente Padilla."

"And he's the...?"

"Pitcher."

"And the pitcher...?"

"Pitches the ball to the player at bat. The player at bat is a member of the opposing team, so the pitcher is attempting to strike him out. A strike is-"

Penny put a finger to Leonard's lips. "Aw, I've trained you so well!"

Leonard grinned and kissed her finger. "Just don't try it with Sex and the City."

Bob exited Penny's apartment and joined them in the hallway. He was also wearing a Dodgers cap, but his was much more worn; you could tell he'd been a long time fan. This made Leonard feel more nervous.

"Alright, Lance, let's get moving," Bob grumbled impatiently.

"Uh, yes, sir," Leonard nodded his head quickly. "Bye, Penny."

"Bye, love you," said Penny, leaning in to kiss him. Leonard moved in to meet her lips, but Bob suddenly grabbed his arm and began towing him down the stairs.

"Love you, too!" Bob grumbled as they turned the corner.

Leonard thrummed his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. Bob sat next to him in the passenger's seat, looking as if he were in an equally foul mood. They were in traffic, making the drive to the stadium even more strenuous than it already was. To top things off, it was ungodly hot out. The experimental physicist was fighting off bouts of nausea from being in a car so long, swearing he would kill himself if he got car sick in front of Penny's father.

Leonard snuck a glance at Bob. He was playing with his baseball cap, spinning it around on his clenched fist. Penny had advised him not to strike up a conversation with her father and wait for him to speak first. Apparently, he didn't like to talk unless he felt like it, and, therefore, got annoyed with those who dragged him into a conversation. However, Leonard was quite certain that if he sat in silence for one more minute then he would go crazy, so he risked it.

"So..." said Leonard. "You...live on a farm...that's...cool."

"I guess," Bob muttered, not looking up from his spinning hat.

"You must have a lot of experience with animals then."

"Yeah, I do."

"...cool..."

Leonard sighed. Clearly, Penny had been right. There seemed to be no way to get her dad excited about a topic. He decided not to try again.

After what felt like an eternity they finally got out of traffic and were moving again. Relief was evident on both their faces.

"Speed up a bit, Lance, or we'll be late," instructed Bob.

"Oh, I'm going seventy," said Leonard. Bob gave him a confused look. "Which is the speed limit...by the way."

Leonard hunched his shoulders as Bob continued to stare at him in that "you're insane!" kind of way. He'd had enough of those looks by the time he'd finished kindergarten.

"Ahem, see, right there? That sign says seventy, which means the speed limit is...ya know...seventy."

"Oh, come on!" Bob chuckled. "Everyone knows that's just a suggestion!"

Leonard's eyes widened. "Well, yeah...a suggestion made by..._the law_."

"Exactly, it's a _suggestion_! So, go eighty!"

"Uh, that is a great _suggestion_, sir. One that I will keep in mind while driving. Ahem, but for now, I'm gonna stick with seventy."

Bob rolled his eyes and began playing with his cap again.

"Just out of curiosity, did you teach Penny how to drive?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Just wondering."


	6. The Dumpling Surplus

**Alright, next chapter is up, sorry for the long wait. I am very excited because I actually do own someone in this chapter. Steve is my own creation. As always, thanks to everyone who reviewed.**

Leonard sighed as he wiped the sweat off his brow. The temperature had not improved since the car ride, and he was now very thankful that Penny had made him wear the baseball cap. The game had been going on for about an hour and conversation between Leonard and Bob had been very rare. Conversation between Bob and a man named Steve sitting next to Leonard however, had been happening for almost the entire game.

"Come on, Padilla, strike him out," said Steve, his hands trembling with excitement.

Based on the cheering of the crowd, Leonard deduced that Padilla had indeed struck out the player.

"Yeah!" Bob and Steve shouted. Leonard leaned further back in his seat so as not to be hit in the face as the two men high fived.

"Yes," said Leonard quietly.

Leonard squinted down at the field. It was rather hard to see what was going on, and, therefore, difficult to get as excited as everyone else who, apparently, all had terrific views of the game.

"Whew, hot enough for ya?" Bob asked, fanning himself with his cap.

"Yeah, tell me about it," agreed Steve.

"Oh," said Leonard, reaching into his bag. "Want some sunscreen?"

Bob and Steve stared at the physicist incredulously, causing him to sink further into his chair.

"Ahem, it's uh, it's SPF 30, so...yeah, good protection against UV rays, which is...good. Is that Padilla guy still pitching?"

"No," said Bob, turning his attention back to the game.

"Okay dokay."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Penny put down her magazine and checked the time again. One hour. They'd been gone for one hour. It felt longer than that, _much _longer. The baseball game had to go well. She'd tried to downplay her worry about the game while preparing Leonard, but now that he was gone she had nothing to do to distract herself.

_ Nothing can go wrong at a baseball game, they'll just sit there for a few hours and talk...oh God, what are they gonna talk about? Not Star Trek, not Star Trek, not Star Trek!_

_ CRASH!_

"Take that, sucka!"

"No, that is against the rules!"

"Is not!"

"You are not allowed to hit pause in order to confuse the other players so that you may have the advantage once the game resumes a second later."

"So, what are you gonna do, dude? Put him on a time out?"

"No, logic dictates we restart the game."

"No way! I was on a roll!"

"Well, you should have thought of that before you hit pause."

"Sheldon, this is ridiculous!"

"No, hitting pause while in the middle of playing Halo is ridiculous."

Penny smiled as the guys continued to argue. She'd found her distraction for the day. She quickly ran across the hall and entered Leonard and Sheldon's apartment.

"Hey, guys," she said.

Howard and Raj both smiled and waved at her, while Sheldon refused to acknowledge her existence entirely.

"You know Leonard's not here, right?" Howard asked.

"Yeah, I know, that's why I was wondering if I could play Halo with you guys."

Penny's request received multiple reactions. Howard's jaw dropped, Sheldon's left eye began to twitch, and Raj nodded eagerly while giving her a thumbs up.

"Um, yeah, sure, I guess you can pla-"

"No! No, she may not play!" Sheldon interrupted Howard. "She has not yet made up for her previous offense."

"Sheldon, come on, you already gave me a strike, what more do you want?" Penny asked, irritated.

"I want the left over dumpling in my fridge gone."

Penny rolled her eyes. "I think I can help you with that."

"You _think_-"

"I _can and_ _will_ help you with that."

Sheldon frowned and muttered, "Fine, you can play."

Raj, who was now bouncing with excitement, began whispering something in Howard's ear.

Wolowitz stared at Raj incredulously. "Really? You want her on your team?" Raj nodded. "...okay."

Raj gave Penny a thumbs up and handed her a controller. Penny accepted the controller and returned the thumbs up. Soon she had lost herself in a world of Halo and killing Sheldon, which was just enough to take her mind off of Leonard and her father.

**So, I actually went to a baseball game last week in Detroit, so I had some stuff to base this chapter off of. It was incredibly hot there with the sun in our faces, so had someone offered me SPF 30 I would have eagerly accepted it. And my cousin and I talked about how much we wished we were playing Halo instead of watching the game, so, that is how Penny's story came to be.**


	7. The Elbow Annoyance

**Okay, so I'll probably only have one or two more chapters after this, so thanks to everyone who's reviewed far. I hope you've all been enjoying it. Again, I don't own anything. Except Steve! :D**

"Sheldon, I need you to cover me!"

"Sorry, Howard, he can't."

"Why?"

_BOOM!_

"'Cause I just threw a grenade at him!"

Penny smiled sweetly at Sheldon as he angrily tossed his controller onto the coffee table. Kicking his butt at video games was always enjoyable. She turned and gave a very pleased looking Raj a high five.

"Huh, so Penny's an awesome Halo player...who knew?" Howard said in disbelief.

"Actually, we all knew," Sheldon corrected him. "And I'd hardly classify her as an _awesome_ Halo player."

"Well, where was I? If I'd known, I would've called dibs way before Raj!"

"You were having intercourse across the hall with the whore of Omaha."

"Oh yeah." A smile spread across Howard's face and he leaned back in the arm chair. "Good times," he sighed.

Penny rolled her eyes. Hearing about Howard's sex life was not something she wanted to get into. Thankfully, Sheldon changed the subject for her.

"When is Leonard coming home?"

"Um, probably in an hour. Why?"

"Because once he returns he can replace you, and you can't even classify Leonard as an _average_ Halo player." The theoretical physicist let out a long sigh. "However, it appears that we're stuck with you for the next sixty minutes."

Penny glared at Sheldon. Not only had he insulted her, but he'd also reminded her about the baseball game she'd been worrying about, and, unfortunately, Sheldon didn't stop there.

"I still don't understand why you had to send Leonard and your father to a baseball game; it's not a sport Leonard cares for."

"Well, my dad really likes baseball, so I figured they'd have a good time getting to know each other at a game."

"Well, that doesn't sound practical."

Penny groaned. "And why doesn't it?"

"There are a number of reasons. First of all, baseball is a sport that one watches and concentrates on, leaving no time for long conversations that may lead to bonding and friendship. Furthermore, sporting events tend to be filled with loud music, cheering, and the occasional silly comments made by intoxicated fans. It's hardly a suitable environment to feel comfortable in, therefore, further lowering the odds of conversation. Not to mention the unsanitary, plastic seats one _cannot_ relax on," he added, narrowing his eyes. "In truth, it would be much more sensible to send Leonard and your father to go and get a hot beverage, allowing for comfort, conversation, and bonding. It would also only take up to half an hour, leaving me with a winning Halo team. In addition-"

"Sheldon!" Penny snapped.

"Yes?"

"I don't care!" But she did care. What Sheldon way saying-no matter how annoying it was-was true. She could have easily followed Sheldon's stupid algorithm for making friends, but she'd chosen the option that would make her father the happiest and the most relaxed; that wasn't fair to Leonard. Leonard would tell her he'd had a good time at the game, but he wouldn't mean it. He and her father couldn't start a proper relationship if one of them was just pretending to enjoy themselves.

"So," said Howard, mindlessly playing with his controller. "should we start another gam-" Wolowitz didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, as he apartment door opened and Bob entered, chuckling like a little boy.

Penny frowned. "What's going on? Why are you back so early?"

Bob was about to reply when Leonard came through the door, holding a blood soaked Dodger's towel to his nose.

"Oh my God, what happened?" Penny asked, horrified.

"Well, Padilla pitched this great homerun and..." Penny rolled her eyes as her father went into more detail about the game, not seeming to care that her boyfriend's nose was bleeding.

"So-so you, ahem, you got hit in the face with, uh, with the ball?" Howard asked shakily. He had turned to face away from Leonard and had turned pale. His aversion to blood had obviously not gotten any better.

"No," said Bob, breaking off from his story. "He got elbowed in the face."

"Who elbowed you in the face?" Penny asked incredulously. She'd beat them with her baseball bat.

"Just some guy named Steve," Leonard mumbled, his voice slightly muffled by the towel. "He was trying to catch the ball."

Raj quickly got up from where he sat on the right side of the couch and moved to the chair beside Howard, allowing Leonard to sit down.

"Are you okay?" Penny asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Leonard groaned, bending over and clutching the towel closer to his nose. Penny winced and gently began rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, that doesn't seem likely," said Sheldon. "After an elbow in the face resulted in a nose bleed, I suspect that the last thing a person would be was _good._"

"Sheldon...," Penny said, shaking her head at him.

Sheldon looked annoyed, but he quietly added, "If your nose is broken, you should go to the emergency room."

"No, it's not broken. _Thank God_," Leonard moaned, moving the towel even closer as fresh blood began dripping out.

"Poor baby," Penny murmured, taking over control of the towel and wiping up the blood from Leonard's face the fabric had failed to soak up.

"You'll need another towel," said Sheldon, getting up from his spot. Penny nodded to him appreciatively.

"No, no, I'll get it!" Howard nearly shouted, racing off to the bathroom as fast as he could.

Penny sighed as she watched him go. No, the baseball game had definitely not been a good idea.

**Now, just to clarify, Steve didn't mean to elbow Leonard! It wasn't his fault! I feel the need to stick up for this guy, as he is the only thing I own in this story.**


	8. The Father Son Situation

**Alright, here's the next chapter. Again, thanks to everyone who reviewed and I don't own anything. Except Steve! ...however, he's not in this chapter...and probably won't make another appearance.**

Penny sat on the couch next to Leonard, her arms wrapped around him and her head on his shoulder. They were watching television, although, she wasn't really paying attention. They'd been watching TV all day because Leonard had been too tired to do anything else as a result of the heavy painkiller he'd taken for his nose. While, Penny wanted to be with Leonard because of the guilt she felt over his nose, she was also spending the day with him to avoid her father. While he'd never been the most heart-felt person in the world, she had at least expected him to show some form of concern or sympathy for Leonard. Instead he'd laughed about the whole thing and then been more interested about what they were having for dinner. So, she'd spent the night at Leonard and Sheldon's and hadn't seen her dad since. Leonard had asked her if they should go see Bob, but she'd dismissed the idea, saying he was probably caught up in some sporting event. Clearly also slightly offended by the mocking that had accompanied his bloody nose, Leonard didn't ask her again.

Penny's thoughts were interrupted when she felt a light thud against her leg. She looked down to see that Leonard's hand had fallen from her waist to her thigh, and when she shifted slightly to look up at her boyfriend, she discovered that he'd fallen asleep. She grinned and carefully removed his glasses and then placed them on the coffee table. Penny let her index finger lightly travel down the ridge of Leonard's nose and then reached up and kissed him on the cheek. It was probably the hundredth kiss she'd given him today, trying to make up for the baseball game fiasco in every way possible, despite Leonard's assurance that he didn't blame her. However, he had not objected the extra kisses he'd received.

* * *

Leonard awoke to the sound of knocking at the door. His eyes fluttered opened and he looked around. Penny was asleep, snuggled into his side, but based on the sunlight still shining in through the windows, he couldn't imagine that it was past four. He picked his glasses up off the coffee table and slowly put them on, being careful not to irritate his sore nose. He unwrapped Penny's arm from his waist, waking her up.

"What's going on?" she mumbled groggily.

"Someone's at the door," Leonard replied, getting up from the couch.

The experimental physicist was surprised to see Bob when he opened the door. He was fidgeting with his hands and looked rather uncomfortable.

"Hey," said Bob, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Hi, sir," Leonard returned the greeting, feeling sort of awkward.

"How's it going, Slugger?" Bob gave Penny a small smile, which she completely ignored. "Alright, listen, would you mind if I speak to Leonard alone for a minute?"

Leonard raised his eyebrows. He wasn't sure which surprised him more: that Bob wanted to speak to him privately or the fact that he'd gotten his name right.

"Um...okay," Penny nodded, getting up from the couch and glancing at her father curiously as she exited the apartment.

An awkward silence followed her departure, causing both men to stare at their shoes for a moment.

"Maybe we should sit down," Bob suggested after a moment.

"Yeah, sure, sitting's good."

The two sat down and after another moment of awkward silence, they slid a bit farther away from each other.

"So, how's your nose?" Bob asked, not making eye contact.

"It's a bit better. It stopped bleeding, which you probably noticed...so, there's really no point in pointing that out, but...anyways...yeah, it's feeling better..." Leonard trailed off, wringing his hands in discomfort.

"Good, that's good."

"Yep."

"Are you in love with my daughter?"

Leonard was completely thrown off by the question and felt the blood rushing to his face as he answered. "Yes...I am...in love with Penny."

Bob nodded, thoughtfully. "And she loves you?"

Leonard nodded. "Penny loves me." He prayed that Penny's father wouldn't see the smile that threatened to overtake his face every time he thought about the subject. If Penny hadn't once pointed it out to him he probably wouldn't have realized how big his grin got.

"I kinda figured that," said Bob, sighing. "Based on how she's been treating me, it'd be impossible for her not to really love you."

"What do you mean?" Leonard asked, confused.

"Penny, she's been ignoring me all day. That's never happened before!" Bob actually sounded quite annoyed and almost hurt by that fact. "She's usually always trying to get my attention and make me happy! Now, ever since the baseball game, she's been giving me the silent treatment!"

Leonard nodded, thinking he understood. Penny obviously showered her father with attention since he'd begun to take little notice of her as she got older. Penny probably thought Bob hadn't noticed, but, clearly, he had, even though he'd failed to reciprocate.

"So, obviously, you mean a lot to her if she's getting so worked up about what happened at the baseball game and how I reacted," Bob continued. "Sorry about that, by the way."

"Yeah, no, that's fine," Leonard assured him.

"Well," said Bob, clapping his hands together. "I gotta admit that I was hoping for a sportier guy, but I'm sure I'll get used to you."

Leonard wasn't exactly sure if he should be pleased or offended, but Bob was smiling, so hopefully that was a good sign.

"I don't suppose you like football?"

"Not really, no."

"Ah, you'll learn," said Bob, waving his hand dismissively. "You're alright, Lance."

"It's Leonard, sir."

"I know, but I've gotten used to Lance and I'm not big on change."

Leonard gave a small smile, noting that this was probably one of the most bizarre situations he'd ever been in. But, still, Penny's father seemed to like him now and they were sort of bonding. That had been the original goal, after all.

**So, there will probably be one more chapter and that will be the end of this fic. Hope you've all enjoyed it so far.**


	9. The Sibling Threat

**Okay, this is the very last chapter of The Parent Visitation AND! it is also the very first fic I have ever finished, so...I'm excited about that! Thanks to everybody who reviewed, you are all awesome! I own Steve and nothing else!**

"Bye, dad! Have a nice flight!" Penny leaned over to give her father a quick hug. He surprised her by tightening and elongating the embrace; something he'd never done before.

"See ya, Slugger," said Bob, smiling. "Bye, Lance."

"Bye, sir," said Leonard. The two nodded to each other and, once again, Penny was left confused. Leonard still hadn't told her anything about what had happened between him and her father, but, obviously, it was something good.

Bob picked up his bags and headed down stairs, leaving Leonard and Penny alone in the hallway.

"So, what happened with you and my dad?" Penny asked, slipping her hand into Leonard's as they entered his and Sheldon's apartment.

"Nothing," Leonard replied, closing the door behind them. "We just have a much better understanding of each other now."

Penny rolled her eyes as they sank down onto the couch, annoyed that they were keeping secrets from her.

"And _we_ didn't have to get drunk to do it!" Leonard bragged, grinning at her.

Penny glared at him half-heartedly. "Shut up." She kept the glare up for one more moment and then her face softened. "Thank you for doing this."

Leonard gave a small smile and shrugged, looking embarrassed by the praise. Penny leaned over and captured his lips, grinning and deepening the kiss when she heard him moan. Suddenly, his hands were on her shoulders, pushing her away.

"What's wrong?" Penny asked, frowning.

"No, sorry," said Leonard sheepishly. "That just _really_ hurts my nose."

Penny couldn't help but laugh and settled for kissing him on the cheek.

"And now _you're_ laughing about my injury," he sighed, exaggerating his hurt. "First Bob, then you, there is just something about your family."

Penny nudged him and then rubbed his arm. Things had actually worked out. Her dad and Leonard were...well, she wasn't exactly sure what, but it all seemed good. The great thing was that they could relax now. Leonard's mother, Beverley, approved of her and Bob approved of Leonard. They could just be together.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Leonard sighed, still joking around.

"Yeah, just wait until you meet the rest of my family," Penny laughed.

"Ah, yes, your brother the chemist and your husband-shooting sister," Leonard recalled.

"Yep. Really, you should be grateful that you ended up with me, the normal, adorable one."

"Ah, you're not that normal," said Leonard shaking his head.

"Hey!"

"But, still adorable! Still incredibly adorable!"

**Alright, that's it. Hopefully, I didn't disappoint. Thank you to all the reviewers again! I really appreciate your input.**


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